The major function of absorbent articles such as diapers and adult incontinence briefs is to prevent body exudates from soiling, wetting, or otherwise contaminating clothing or other articles, such as bedding, that may come in contact with the wearer. In recent years, disposable diapers, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,151,092 issued to Buell et al., have become very popular end have generally replaced durable cloth absorbent articles because of their convenience and reliability. However, despite the effectiveness of such disposable absorbent articles, body exudates often still leak or are stored in the diaper such that the exudates soil and/or irritate the skin of the wearer. Additionally, body exudates often adhere aggressively to skin, increasing the difficulty of cleaning and increasing the likelihood of chronic residual contamination.
The undesirable effects of leakage and/or improper containment, difficult cleanup, and/or residual skin contamination are especially evident with regard to fecal matter deposited in the diaper. Feces contained in the diaper can harm the skin of the wearer over time and feces leaking from the diaper almost invariably presents unpleasant, messy clean-ups. Thus, several attempts have been made to add features to diapers such as barriers, pockets, spacers, transverse barriers and the like to limit the movement of the fecal material across the topsheet and/or to better confine the fecal matter in the diaper. However, such attempts have been generally unsuccessful due to their cost and complexity. Several attempts have also been made to provide topsheets with large apertures through which bodily wastes can pass without resistance. (An example of an aperture in an article applied to the buttocks is disclosed in Japanese Laid Open Patent Application No. HEI 2-31756, filed on Jul. 22, 1988 and published on Feb. 1, 1990.) However, such embodiments are difficult to use because in order to provide any benefit, the caregiver must properly align the aperture with the wearer's anus and/or urethra. This is an especially difficult task when diapering an active child or when fitting a garment to one's self Further, the aperture must somehow be maintained in the proper position throughout the time the diaper is worn in order to be effective.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an element which helps keep feces and other bodily exdates form the away from the skin of the wearer. Further, it would be advantageous to provide an economical disposable article with the ability to minimize the negative effects of feces or other bodily waste on the wearer or the +caregiver. It would also be advantageous to provide an article which can be used in conjunction with an absorbent article which permits bodily exudates to pass in one direction but which resists their passage in the opposite direction. It would also be desirable to provide a barrier sheet which can be used in conjunction with a disposable article which provides an aperture through which bodily exudates can pass where necessary in response to the bodily exudates being expelled from the body. Finally, it would be advantageous to provide such a barrier sheet which is able to be dissolved by bodily exudates moving away from the skin, but resistant to passage of such exudates back toward the skin.